Realize and Reveal
by kidcarter
Summary: Newkirk and Carter come to conclusions, and Carter has something to confess.
1. Chapter 1

Newkirk had known he was queer ever since he had been a boy. While all of his mates were looking at birds, he was looking at other blokes. He mentioned it once when he was too young to know any better, but the reaction he got was enough to make sure he never brought it up again. He pretended like he was joking, and then started talking about a girl that all the guys thought was attractive. He sure could get enough birds to make the guys jealous.

But that was then. Now that he was in dear old Stalag 13, he didn't have to worry about pretending to be interested in girls. He just had to pretend to be upset at the lack of them and try to woo the occasional one when his mates were around.

It had been nice when Louis discovered his sexual preferences though. He was an observant one, that was for sure. Newkirk had thought he was being discreet, the rare glance here and there, but he hadn't been discreet enough for the small Frenchman. He still blushed when he remembered how LeBeau cornered him and causally brought up how he wouldn't care who Newkirk preferred, as long as he continued to bring him food to cook with. That had been the start of their friendship.

Newkirk shook his head. But that was then, this was now. A new man, Andrew Carter, had recently been captured and had joined the men at Stalag 13. When the Colonel had heard about his skills with explosives, he had asked him to join the team as their demolition expert.

Newkirk wasn't too sure about him though. From the conversation they had Carter sounded like an idiot, saying strange things at the wrong time and mixing up his idioms. But Newkirk trusted the Colonel, and if he thought Carter was going to work well with them, well Carter must be pretty bright.

But, as usual, Newkirk was proven wrong. "What do you mean you can't talk? What kind of idiot gets sick and doesn't tell anyone?"

Carter looked guilty and tried to say something, but nothing would come out.

"Well that's just bloody fantastic, now I'm your babysitter." Newkirk sat at the table across from Carter and wagged his finger at him. "You listen here, next time you're sick you tell someone, so I don't have to be stuck here with you again." He sighed. He had some paper that he was saving to write a letter to Mavis, but he could always ask the Colonel to get some more for him. He headed over to his locker and grabbed some paper and a pencil.

"Here." He handed the paper to Carter. "If I'm going to be stuck here with you, I'd at least like to talk to you somehow." Carter started to write something on the paper and when he was finished pushed it back to Newkirk.

 _Thanks! :)_

Newkirk mentally groaned. A smiley face? That was the kind of person the kid was? "No problem. Just don't do something stupid again."

 _I won't._

Newkirk shuffled some cards. "Do you want to play?"

 _I'm not very good at cards, but I'll sure try._

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Twenty games later and Newkirk could see Carter was getting tired of losing. Not that Newkirk blamed him. There was only so many times someone could loose before giving up. He was impressed he lasted so long though, most of the men only played five games before quitting. Carter was definitely persistent.

Carter slid Newkirk the piece of paper.

 _I'm getting a little tired of playing. You sure are good though._

Newkirk grinned. "Thanks. I've gotten enough practice playing all the guys here."

 _How long have you been here?_

"About two years now. Louis was here when I got here, he's been here for about two and a half years. Kinch came soon after me, about a couple of months, and Colonel Hogan's been here for about a year now."

 _I'm sorry._

"Don't be. It's not your fault." Newkirk shuffled his cards, unsure what to say. Luckily Carter could think of enough things to say for at least ten people.

 _Where do you come from? I'm from Bullfrog. It's a real neat place. My whole family lives there. I live with my little brother and grandmother. The rest of my family, aunts, uncles, and cousins, live on the same street as us. It's really nice living so close to them._

"I bet you're a real chatterbox when you can talk, aren't you?" Newkirk said looking over the note. "I'm from London. I live with me mum and little sister. I think you're actually about the same age as her. Where in the world is Bullfrog?"

 _North Dakota. How old is your sister? I'm 19. My brother's 11._

Newkirk looked at Carter in surprise. "You're nineteen? Mavis, my sister, is twenty-two. I'm twenty-four. You're probably one of the youngest here."

 _Really? I wasn't even the youngest in my town to join._

As Newkirk was about to reply, Hogan, Kinch, and LeBeau came through the door. "What have you two been doing while we were out shoveling snow?" LeBeau said, pretending to be grumpy. Newkirk could tell he had been worried about their newest member though. LeBeau was like that, always taking quickly to people.

"Nothing much. Just planning on going into town. Maybe stopping at a bar, meeting a few birds. You know the whole bit." LeBeau huffed at Newkirk.

"Yeah, meeting girls. That's for sure." Newkirk glared at LeBeau.

"Shut up Louis."

Hogan shook his head at the two men. "How are you doing Carter?"

Carter reached for the paper, wrote something down, and handed it to Hogan.

"Better, huh? Well that's good. Wilson says to get plenty of rest and to try to not talk. Your voice should be back by tomorrow."

Carter grinned. "Well that's going to be bloody fantastic, now he's going to be talking our heads off," Newkirk said, looking at Carter. Carter stuck his tongue out in return.

"Okay, children," Hogan said, patting Newkirk on the back. "It's time for all the good little soldiers to go to bed."

"I'm not a child! He started it!" Newkirk pointed at Carter. Carter pointed back at Newkirk, as if to say that he was to blame.

"I don't care who started it. I do care that it's time for lights out and one of us needs all the rest he can get."

Hogan headed to his room and Newkirk stuck his tongue out behind the Colonel's back.

"Real mature, Peter." LeBeau rolled his eyes at him.

"Well I'm pretty tired guys, how about we listen to the Colonel and hit the hay," Kinch said, already in his bed.

Newkirk saw Carter from across the table look around, probably looking for a bunk that he could use. "Hey mate." Newkirk tapped Carter's hand. "I know you'd rather not sleep near LeBeau, since he snores, but if you're looking for a bed feel free to bunk with me."

"I heard that!" LeBeau yelled from his bed. "Don't listen to him Carter, I do not snore."

Carter giggled at the playful argument the two men were having, but headed to the bottom bunk. "You might want to wait a minute there," Newkirk said over his shoulder. "Wait till I get in my bunk first. Then I don't have to worry about stepping on you."

Carter nodded and let Newkirk pass so he could get on the top bunk. When Newkirk was settled Carter got in the bottom bunk. Carter waved his hand up at Newkirk as his only way to say goodnight. Luckily, Newkirk understood.

"Goodnight Andrew."

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Newkirk always woke up early. He liked sleeping as much as the next guy, but it seemed like he was programmed to get up at the crack of dawn, no matter how late he went to sleep the night before. He had gone to bed at a decent time the night before, he was grateful for that. There were days that he only managed to get an hour two of sleep before going on another mission the following night.

Newkirk stretched, minding the ceiling, and started to get off his bunk. He looked down at the bottom bunk and nearly fell off. He gently pushed off the bottom of his bunk and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Newkirk looked at Carter, sprawled out on the bunk and drooling on his pillow, and shook his head. While he would have to get used to someone laying on the bunk underneath him, he was glad that it was this kid.

"I didn't know he was your type." Newkirk whirled around, relieved to see LeBeau standing behind him.

"Will you keep it down Louis? This isn't something that everyone needs to know about! And he's not my type!" Newkirk crossed his arms, uncomfortable with the subject. "I'm here to defend my country, not for romance. Besides, he's younger than my kid sister!"

"He's only five years younger, not twenty."

"It's still a pretty big gap."

LeBeau rolled his eyes. "Stop trying to convince yourself. I heard you call him Andrew last night. You didn't call me by my name until we had been friends for at least a couple of months."

"We just talked a lot yesterday, that's all. I felt like I should call him by his given name."

"Whatever you say."

"I'll just try to distance myself from him. It's just because I was so close to him yesterday. I'm sure if I treat him like anyone else I won't feel this way anymore."

LeBeau put down the coffee he was making and faced Newkirk. "Peter, it's fine if you like him. You're allowed to like people you know."

"I know that! I just don't want to betray his trust, that's all." Newkirk looked at the ground.

"How can you betray his trust? He clearly looks up to you. Why I don't know, but he does. And I'm sure something like that won't change his admiration of you. Just give him a chance." LeBeau patted Newkirk on the shoulder, trying to get him to look up.

"I guess you're right. But what if he hates me?"

"Who hates you?" Hogan walked out of his room, ready for roll call.

"No one sir. Me and LeBeau were just having a friendly chat this morning. Weren't we LeBeau?" Newkirk quickly turned to face Hogan.

LeBeau poured some of the coffee he had made into three cups. "Oui Colonel. It's just so typical of the English to not understand manners. He was talking so loud I was sure everyone was going to wake up."

"Oh, someone woke up all right." Kinch headed over to the table to join the three men. He looked behind him to where Carter was sleeping. "I can't believe he didn't wake up."

"Well he had a tough time you know. He has to rest," Newkirk said, trying to defend his new friend.

"He's right." Hogan stood up, and headed over to check on Carter. "Since when have you taken to anyone so quickly, Newkirk?"

"Well that's just bleeding nice sir. I sat with him yesterday, like you asked, and now everybody's ragging on me just because I got to know him."

"Calm down Newkirk, we're just teasing you." Hogan placed his hand on Newkirk's shoulder.

"Yeah, Newkirk," Kinch said. "We all know you actually don't like anyone."

"You keep talking like that and I'm not going to get any food for LeBeau to cook with. Then you'll be sorry."

"Would you keep it down over there?"

The four looked at the bunk the voice came from. Carter had rolled over and pulled his jacket over his head, trying to keep the noise out. Newkirk looked at the other guys. "Did you guys hear that too?"

"Oui. Do you think he's better now? Wilson said he would be better in the morning."

"Well there's only one way to find out." Hogan headed over to where Carter was laying and started to shake him. "It's time to get up. Roll call's going to start soon."

Carter rolled over to face the wall. "Five more minutes."

Newkirk definitely heard it that time. "Let me have a shot at him." He turned around to shake Carter. "Carter! Carter! Time to get up!"

Carter sat up and rubbed his eyes. "All right, I'm up, I'm up." His eyes grew huge when he realized what he said. "I can talk again!"

"Aren't you a bright one?"

"I can talk Newkirk!" Carter threw his arms around Newkirk. Newkirk stood there, unsure of what to do, before deciding to gently pat Carter on the back.

"We noticed that mate." Newkirk stepped back carefully, getting Carter to end the hug.

"Boy, I can't wait to talk to everyone! It sure was hard getting to know everyone when I couldn't talk." He turned to face Kinch. "Hey, I'm Carter. You're Kinch, right? You sure are smart. I can work with chemicals and everything, but electronics are a whole 'nother thing. A lot tougher." Then he turned to LeBeau. "And boy your cooking sure is good. Almost as good as my nan's." He then faced Hogan. "You must be one of the most creative people I've ever met. I sure would've never thought of a plan as good as yours!"

Newkirk enjoyed the look on the other guys faces. It wasn't very often something surprised them, especially the Colonel. He would have been surprised too if he hadn't spent yesterday talking to Carter. He had nearly used up all of his paper talking to him. It was a good thing he got his voice back so soon, a chatterbox like him would have probably gone nuts without his voice for more than a day.

"Well thank you." Hogan was always the first to react in any situation. "I'm sure you could have thought of something though. You couldn't have made Sargent for nothing."

Newkirk hadn't noticed that before. While he usually didn't care too much about rank, it still kind of annoyed him that a kid, five years younger than him, was ranked higher than him. But from what he heard from Carter's stories, he really did believe that he had earned it. Carter didn't seem like the kind of person who could fool anyone very easily.

"Colonel, it's almost time for roll call." As usual, Kinch was watching the clock, playing the mother of the group.

"Alright." Hogan got up from sitting on Carter's bunk and clapped his hands. "Don't want to keep Schultz waiting."

Newkirk waited for everyone to file out, preferring to follow the group rather than lead. He saw Carter looking around confused. Newkirk remembered when he first came to Stalag 13. He grabbed Carter by the shoulders and led him to his spot before going to his. Carter shot him a grin before facing forward and standing at attention. Newkirk rolled his eyes. The kid sure had a lot to get used to.


	2. Chapter 2

Carter hadn't been at Stalag 13 very long. If he had counted the days right, it had only been about three months, and he was already a full fledged member of the sabotage team. He hadn't really talked much to anybody except Newkirk, but all the guys seemed nice. The guards were even pretty nice, as long as you bribed them right, which he considered to be a huge stroke of luck.

But no matter how nice the guards were, Carter still was prone to making mistakes. No one could find a way to blame this on him though. Carter was completely innocent. If anything it was Colonel Hogan's fault, not that he would ever say that to his face. But Colonel Hogan was only trying to do what was best for everyone, no matter how much it bothered the guys.

Carter kicked the rocks in front of the bench he was sitting at. He had actually thought it was a great idea to ban smoking. There sure were a lot of explosives in the tunnels, and the way people smoked around here you would've thought that it was going out of fashion. It was a dangerous combination, and it had always made Carter a bit nervous. Besides, he'd always thought it was a bad habit anyway.

Newkirk sure didn't though. Boy, his pal must've smoked at least a pack a day. Quitting cold turkey had really been tough on him. Newkirk had always been occasionally grumpy, but only when he had a reason. Now he was acting grumpy all of the time, even when Carter hadn't said anything stupid. And if Newkirk wasn't being grumpy, he sure was acting antsy. The kind of antsy he only was on a dangerous mission, or dressed as a lady, even though they hadn't been on any missions lately. But, Carter thought, as he headed inside, he knew Newkirk, and Newkirk would pull through soon.

"I told you, I just want one bloody smoke! I'll go outside, just give me the ruddy cigarette!" Carter couldn't believe his eyes. Kinch was holding Newkirk back from LeBeau, who was holding a pack of cigarettes that Newkirk must have hidden somewhere.

"You heard the Colonel. We have to give up smoking," Kinch said, trying to calm Newkirk down. "It's dangerous. We have Carter mixing explosives in the tunnels and that's an accident waiting to happen."

"Well I don't bloody well see why we all have to give up smoking all together!" Newkirk struggled to get away from Kinch and to the cigarettes.

"What's going on in here?" Hogan stepped out from his room, disturbed by all of the yelling.

"Nothing sir," replied Kinch, trying to keep a hold on Newkirk. "We just found a pack of cigarettes and were about to get rid of them."

Hogan studied Newkirk. "LeBeau, go give the pack to the one of the guards. See if you can get some gloves or something out of it."

LeBeau nodded to Hogan. "Oui, Colonel." Newkirk tried to grab for them one more time, but Hogan blocked his way and LeBeau was able to leave safely. Kinch loosened his grip on Newkirk.

"Why'd you go and do that?" Newkirk didn't seem to care that the guy he was yelling at was his Commanding Officer. It actually looked like Newkirk was getting ready to throw a punch at him. But Hogan was never one to turn away from a fight.

"Because I gave you orders to quit smoking. And as your Commanding Officer, you have to listen. I don't care if you smoke ten packs a day when the war ends, but as long as you're here, you better not be. Did I make myself clear?"

Newkirk glared at Hogan. "Yes sir."

"Well you better start acting like it. Carter keep an eye on Newkirk, distract him and get him to drink water when he wants a cigarette." Hogan headed back to his room, probably trying to work on something that London had sent.

"Hey Newkirk," Carter said, taking a seat at the table. "You holding out okay?" Carter winced. Of course Newkirk wasn't okay. Boy he sure could be stupid sometimes. Newkirk turned his glare to Carter, which Carter completely understood. He always managed to say something at the wrong time. Carter tried to smile, but it probably looked as forced as it felt. "Sorry. How are you feeling?"

Newkirk sighed. But Carter noticed that now he looked more tired than angry, which he guessed was an improvement. "Terrible. I've had a headache for ages now and I'm always tired. I just wish the Colonel would take back that bloody rule. I'd be good old Newkirk again if I could have just one cig. Just one couldn't hurt."

Carter frowned. "Cigarettes aren't a magical solution you know. And then you'll just want one more in a couple of hours. How about we do something else? You haven't beaten me at cards in at least two hours. That must be a new record!" Carters attempt at humor fell flat, but Newkirk still took the bait and started shuffling his cards.

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Boy who knew distracting someone was going to be so expensive? They had only played for an hour or two and Carter was already down thirty-five bucks. And while he was glad the distraction was working, he didn't think he had the funds to hold out much longer.

"Gin." Newkirk laid down his cards for what felt like the millionth time already.

"Gee Newkirk, how'd you get so good at cards? I mean I've played my fair share of card games too, but you always seem to win, no matter who you're playing. You can even beat Colonel Hogan!" Carter felt pretty proud of himself. That had been a pretty good switch, and now he wouldn't even have to worry about losing any more money.

Newkirk slammed the cards he was shuffling down on the table. "Just practice Andrew." He bounced his legs up and down before standing up quickly. He paced around for a bit then turned around and faced Carter. "Do you want to walk around? It's getting a little too cramped in here."

Carter headed to where Newkirk stood. "Sure buddy. Any place you want to go in particular?"

Newkirk shook his head. "No, just want to stretch my legs for bit, that's all."

Carter was glad he wasn't the only one who felt that way. While he sure was glad that he ended up at Stalag 13, he still missed being at home and being able to wander around outside whenever he felt like it. The only reason Newkirk probably wanted to go outside was because of his lack of cigarettes, but it was still nice to have some company. "Boy, I've sure missed the outdoors. Back in Bullfrog I practically lived outside. Until the winter at least. It sure did get pretty cold. You know what? I don't think I've ever heard you say much about London. What's it like? Is it the same as Muncie? Cause I think that's about the biggest city I've ever been to."

"Carter do you always have to talk so much? London's great. You can actually smoke there without people telling you all the time how bad it is." Newkirk headed out without checking to see if Carter was following behind him.

Carter cracked his knuckles. Newkirk was the guy he was closest to here, but he sure was tired of Newkirk getting angry at him all of the time. But Newkirk was going through a tough time and it was up to Carter to make sure he was feeling better soon. Carter did owe him after all Newkirk had gone through when he was sick. With that thought in mind, Carter pulled himself together and headed out the door, planning to run after Newkirk.

He didn't have to go very far though; Newkirk was waiting right outside the door. "Newkirk?" Carter said in surprise.

"Yeah, yeah. It's me." Newkirk looked at the ground in shame. "Listen, I'm sorry mate. I know I've been a right ruddy git lately. It's just that I've been smoking so long that it's hard to give it up. But I give you my word that I'm going to try my best. And I know that I'm probably going to say some more lousy things that I don't mean, and I apologize in advance for that. You're my mate, and I think the world of you." He looked up at Carter. "So I guess what I'm trying to say here is I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me."

Carter stood there, and for the first time in all of his years of living, couldn't think of anything to say. "Uh… Well it's okay Newkirk. I mean, I know this couldn't have been easy for you. And I'll forgive you on one condition."

Newkirk looked hopeful. "Sure, whatever you want mate."

"Just forget my debt, will you? Cause the next time we go into town I really want to get this book I saw. It's called Animal Farm, and it sounds pretty interesting. I used to live on a farm you know, and it's always neat to read about something you know a bit about."

Newkirk shook his head. "Whatever you say Andrew."

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Carter laid on his bunk, rereading the only book he had for the third time. It had been three months since everyone had quit smoking, and Newkirk was almost completely over his urges. But it sure hadn't been an easy three months. Carter had thought that they were going to be caught when a shopkeeper saw Newkirk pick pocketing a pack of cigarettes on one of their missions. Boy had Colonel Hogan let him have it. Newkirk wasn't allowed on any missions for a month, and that had made even the old scaredy-cat anxious for the chance to prove himself again. Then there was the time Newkirk almost slept straight through roll call, he was so tired. Schultz had been afraid that he would have to tell Klink that one of the prisoners hadn't escaped, but actually died. He sure was happy when Hogan managed to wake Newkirk up.

While Carter was happy that his buddy was feeling better, he was also kind of sad. He had enjoyed spending time with Newkirk, but he figured that Newkirk would probably just go back to spending most of his free time with LeBeau and Kinch, just like before. But Carter tried to not let that get him down. He could deal with spending some time alone. It wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Carter sat straight up on his bunk. After all, he would still get to talk to Newkirk during missions and stuff, it wasn't like he had died. Maybe he should just find somebody else to talk to when they weren't on missions. He considered his choices. Obviously LeBeau and Kinch were out of the question, since they already spent all of their time Newkirk. Maybe Olsen? Carter didn't know much about him, but he had practically all of the time in the world to.

With his decision made, Carter stood up and headed out determined to find Olsen. He wasn't able to get very far though before someone ran into him and knocked him to the ground. Carter stood up and brushed himself off and started to apologize for not paying attention to where he was going, but he didn't get the chance to.

"Andrew!" Newkirk stood in front of him with a huge smile on his face. "Where have you been mate? Why don't you join us for a game of football?" Kinch and LeBeau were standing near the Kommadant's office, waiting for Newkirk to rejoin them. Carter sure felt weird though. His stomach felt funny and his hands were really sweaty. Kind of like he was sick, but he sure didn't think he was. He hadn't been coughing or anything, and if you're sick aren't you supposed to be coughing? He hadn't seen anyone that had been sick who wasn't coughing. So what was wrong with him?

"You still with me here Andrew?" Newkirk waved his hand in front of Carter's face.

Carter blinked a couple of times. "Uh, yeah, yeah. Sure, I'll play with you."

Newkirk patted Carter's shoulder. "Great! Let me just go tell the guys." Newkirk ran off to where LeBeau and Kinch were standing. But Carter wasn't paying attention to that. He absent mindedly touched the same shoulder that Newkirk had. Some of the other guys had made that same gesture before, but it sure felt different when Newkirk did it. It sort of reminded him of way he felt after all of the times Mary Jane had touched him before they broke up.

Boy.

Boy oh boy.

This was not his fault.


	3. Chapter 3

"Raus! Raus! Time for roll call!" The men in Barracks 2 all grumbled. "You don't need to yell Schultzie," Newkirk said. "We're all here. Is this really necessary?" "Yeah, Schultz," chimed in LeBeau. "I've had a long night. You would not believe the girls I met!" Schultz chucked. "You jolly jokers! There's no way you could do that. Is there?" 

As Schultz stood there worrying Colonel Hogan stepped out from his room. "You heard the man. It's time for roll call," Hogan said, giving his men a discreet nod. Everyone started heading out except for Carter, who lagged by the door. 

"Hey mate, didn't you hear the Colonel? We have to head outside for roll call." Carter had been acting strangely lately, and Newkirk was getting worried. He hadn't been playing cards with Newkirk, and that was a shame in itself, because he was the only one who would play with him and he barely talked to him, unless it was absolutely necessary. Newkirk couldn't even remember the last time they'd had a proper conversation. It appeared that Carter only wanted to spend time with LeBeau. When Newkirk tried to ask LeBeau about him all LeBeau would say was something about how it was typical for an Englishman not to see something that was right under his nose. 

"Uh, yeah, I heard him. I just wanted to say something real quick. I mean if that's okay with you, of course. 'Cause if it's not I could just talk to you later or something, if that's all right with you." Carter stood there fidgeting. 

And then there was that. Whenever Carter did talk to him, he sounded afraid. Like Newkirk was going to chew him out or something. Which, of course, Newkirk had done on occasion, but only when there was a reason, and Carter hadn't done anything too daft lately. 

"Of course it's all right with me. I didn't really feel like heading out there right now anyway. Got to keep those Krauts on their toes," Newkirk said with a grin, nudging Carter with his elbow. Carter frowned and turned away. "Why don't we head to the Colonel's room? We won't have to listen to Schultz yelling then." 

Newkirk lead Carter to Hogan's room and closed the door behind them. "Now what's been bugging you?" 

"Well, promise you won't hate me for this, cause I've been feeling this way for a while now, and I don't think it's just a phase or anything. And I've talked to LeBeau and he told me I should tell you, but I really wasn't sure, but then again you know what they say about the French and all, so I figured I better do what he says, cause he's really smart, or at least way smarter than me, and-" 

"Good lord Andrew! Just spit it out! We can't stay in here forever. The colonel can only cover for us for so long." He really hadn't missed Carter's rambling though. 

"It's just that we've been friends so long, and I don't really want to mess that up. And I don't want to mess up this set up either. Boy would Colonel Hogan be mad." 

"If you don't hurry this up, then the war's going to be over, and we won't even have the chance to be mates anymore. What are you trying to say?" 

"I'm just trying to say that I like you Peter!" Carter turned to the wall, his back facing Newkirk. Newkirk stared at Carter's back, unable to believe what he heard. He put his hand on Carter's back. 

"Calm down Andrew. It's okay mate. Can you just face me? I can't talk to someone's back." Carter turned around and Newkirk could see that he was very upset. "Did LeBeau tell you to do this?" 

"Yeah," Carter looked down and sniffled. "I knew I shouldn't have listened to him! What a bunch of baloney, I shouldn't have told anyone, not even LeBeau. Even if the French are supposed to be good with romance. Boy, I should've known not to say anything." 

"Andrew! Andrew! Calm down!" Newkirk gently shook Carter's shoulder, trying to get him to stop rambling. "What else did LeBeau say when you told him?" 

"Well first he talked a lot about how it was great that I came to him, because the French are the best when it comes to romance, and all that stuff. Then he just asked me some questions, like how long I had liked you, and stuff like that." 

"But he didn't say anything about me and how he thought I would react?" 

"Uh, no. I don't think so at least. I'm really sorry. I promise I'll just mind my own business now and I'll leave you alone! I won't even talk to you unless I have to! Of course I'll have to talk to you on missions and stuff, cause Colonel Hogan would be pretty suspicious if I didn't, but I promise you that I won't for any other reason!" 

Newkirk mentally groaned. He had royally messed this up and he had to start fixing it soon. "Andrew, I'm not mad at you. If anything I'm mad at LeBeau. But of course he's French, and you know how they can be with all of their romance. I was just asking if he mentioned me because of a conversation I had with him a few weeks ago. I had a pretty similar problem, and I wanted to get his opinion. Bloody lot of help he was though." 

"Yeah, I figured you liked someone else," Carter look at the ground in disappointment. "Was it that girl from the last mission? You two seemed like you hit it off pretty fast. And I knew there was no way you like me anyway. I mean, I'm not a beautiful girl for starters, and-" 

Newkirk rolled his eyes. Once again Carter hadn't let him finish and ended up with the wrong idea. "Andrew would you just let me finish? Stop jumping to conclusions! You really think I liked that girl? I'm bloody queer Andrew! Did you really think I was just going to let all the men in the camp know?" 

"Oh." Carter stood there, kicking his feet around. "Well you sure don't seem so, the way you and LeBeau go on about girls and stuff." 

"Andrew, you really are daft. LeBeau knows. We've been here the longest, way before you, or even the Colonel got here, and there's some things that's just hard to keep from a guy after you've spent so much time together." Newkirk looked at the ground. "I guess it's a good thing you told me that you liked me. But it's a ruddy shame that I didn't get the chance to tell you how I felt first." He shook his head. "LeBeau's never going to let me live it down." 

"You mean… you like me too?" 

Newkirk patted Carters shoulder. "Of course mate." He looked down sheepishly. "I was actually planning on telling you soon. I guess there's no need to worry about that anymore. But, uh, I guess we better be heading out soon. I think we left the Colonel covering for us a bit too long, and they're bound to be heading in here soon, asking what we've been doing and all," Newkirk said, blushing. 

"Boy, I bet so. We're probably going to get a real yelling at when we go out there." Carter looked up at Newkirk shyly. "Um, so does that mean we're a thing?" 

Newkirk couldn't take much more of this. If Carter kept acting like this, his face would probably stay red for the rest of his life. "Of course Andrew. That's what two people do when they like each other. Let's just keep it on the down low for now though. LeBeau should be okay with it, but I really don't know how the others would take it." 

"Sure! Yeah, that's great!" Carter had a huge grin covering his face. 

"Well come on then," Newkirk said, shoving Carter towards the door. "We've been in here long enough. Schultz is probably having a heart attack this very minute." 

"I hope not. Can you imagine having to train another guard to deal with us? It'd be impossible." 

"Where have you two been?" Hogan whispered angrily, as they walked out of the Barracks. "I had to convince Schultz that you two lost something, and that was pretty hard considering there's not enough room to lose in anything in the Barracks!" 

"Sorry Colonel. Andrew here just had a question about the next mission, and it happened to be very important. I didn't want another mess on our hands sir." Newkirk tried his best to look like a good little solider, but by Hogan's expression, he could tell he was failing miserably. 

"Whatever it was that was going on in there, I don't want a repeat, you hear me?" 

"You got it boy, I mean Colonel!" Hogan shook his head at Carter. "Well you two better head to your spots, Klink's headed over, and you've caused enough trouble for one day." 

"Right away sir." Newkirk saluted and they both headed to their spots. LeBeau looked at Newkirk questioningly and Newkirk gave him a wink. He had quite the story to tell the Frenchman later.


End file.
